The judge advocate general of the Canadian Forces (JAG; ) is the senior legal officer who superintends the administration of military justice in the Canadian Armed Forces, and provides legal advice on military matters to the governor general, the minister of national defence, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. The office is defined in section 9 of the National Defence Act.
The 15th and current judge advocate general is Rear Admiral Geneviève Bernatchez, since June 28, 2017.
Office of the Judge Advocate General
The office consists of 159 regular force legal officer positions and 64 reserve force legal officer positions. Regular force legal officers are deployed as follows:
National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa
Eight Assistant Judge Advocate General (AJAG) offices: Esquimalt, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, NORAD HQ (USA), and Germany. Ten Deputy Judge Advocate (DJA) offices across Canada Four Regional Military Prosecutor (RMP) offices across Canada Canadian Forces Military Law Centre at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario Deputy Commander-in-Chief North American Aerospace Defence Command Headquarters (in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States) with CF contingents deployed overseas in training with CF formations and units participating in major national and international exercises.
List of judge advocates general
Major-General Henry Smith, 1911-1918
Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Mowat Biggar, 1918-1920
Brigadier Reginald John Orde, 1920-1950
Brigadier-General William J. Lawson, 1950-1969
Brigadier-General Harold A. McLearn, 1969-1972
Brigadier-General James M. Simpson, 1972-1976
Major-General John Patterson Wolfe, 1976-1982
Brigadier-General Frank Karwandy, 1982-1986
Brigadier-General Robert L. Martin, 1986-1990
Commodore Peter R. Partner, 1990-1993
Brigadier-General Pierre G. Boutet, 1993-1998
Major-General Jerry S.T. Pitzul, 1998-2006
Brigadier-General Ken Watkin, 2006-2010
Major-General B. Blaise Cathcart, 2010-2017
Rear-Admiral Geneviève Bernatchez, 2017-
See also
Courts-martial of Canada
United States
Judge Advocate General's Corps
United Kingdom
Judge Advocate of the Fleet
Judge Advocate General (United Kingdom)